Your Daily Fix, 6/27

Hey everyone. It's another warm day in L.A. (lower Alabama) and I'd really like to be in the pool right now.

I have added a pool shot, captured by yours truly in April, to provide some vicarious enjoyment. We like it hot here at the HABOTN, but we all have our limits. I'm there.

I was talking with one of my pro-Alabama friends, Citifinancial magnate Jeff K., and he thinks the answer to all this misbehavin' on campus is to resume use of athletic dorms. They were all but outlawed a decade ago because they often afforded comforts that regular students didn't have. They also were havens for questionable moral/legal events.

HOTTIES: What do you think? I believe Jimmy Johns was going to peddle cocaine regardless of his living arrangements.

I talked with former DC Will Muschamp ther other day about The Recruiting Situation. If you'll recall, he told me months ago that early commitments would become The Next Big Thing in college football.

Lo and behold, Auburn currently has 17 commitments. Texas, Muschamp's current employer, has 19. It's not even July yet.

Here are a few other things Muschamp had to say about this.

• First is best: Many recruits take mental notes about which programs are the first to show interest and offer a scholarship. Mid-major schools have known this for years, yet their (relative) lack of prestige prevented many prospects from committing. Now, big schools like Auburn and Texas (and many others) are making their feelings known much earlier than before.
  
  The Auburns and Texases of the world have much more allure.
  
  ``A whole lot of kids put stock into who recruited me first," Muschamp said. ``It's all about relationships. When you're building a relationship, kids feel closer to the people who believed in them all along."
  
  
• What about overcrowding?: Schools generally have no more than 25 scholarships to give. What happens when some big-time prospects decide to play at Auburn or Texas in February ... when the team already has a full class?
  
  Muschamp said proper planning can help teams avoid that potential snag.
  
  ``We know which kids we like and we've been talking with them and watching them for a long time," Muschamp said. ``This is like marriage: Once you're in and you accept that offer, that's it. We're committed to the kid and he's committed to us. That's a done deal in my mind."
  

Remember, though, that the deal isn't done in the NCAA's mind until February. That's when committed players sign binding Letters of Intent.

I'll share more of the conversation next week.

Literate Auburn fans know about Phillip Marshall, who has covered Auburn for the Huntsville Times since 1990. Not anymore. Today is his last day in print journalism.

Phillip has signed on with Auburn Undercover, which debuts next week. I can't wait to see what zany things P-Marsh will spew once freed from the shackles of orthodoxy. Maybe a jump to the Interwebs will give him the Hall of Fame support he so richly deserves.

A friend of mine forwarded me a YouTube link that was so funny that I just had to share it with the HOTTIES.

Check this out:


The only bad thing about the catch is that it didn't really happen. So it goes.

Questions? Comments? Post directly to the blog below or email me at jgtate@gannett.com.